Sidwell, GDS, Maret: Keep schools open

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a local private. We are lucky to have a few long-term subs on campus everyday. However, we still don’t have enough subs to cover for everyone who’s been sick, experiencing mild symptoms but awaiting PCR test results (3-4 days in DC), or home with a sick or quarantined child. Our division heads and admin staffers are covering classes and duties. It’s meant that we don’t always have people available when a child needs to be sent to the office or school counselor. It’s meant canceling parent meetings or attending them for just a few minutes so that teaching staff can substitute for absent staff. That’s sustainable for a week or two, but if post-break absences are any higher than they were throughout December, sustaining operations will be difficult. We can’t magic up more personnel, no matter how many angry letters the HoS gets.

Parents will sub.

We’ve seen our tooth private schools kids - particularly lower school - fall quite behind in their foundational skills. And no review this year after 1.5 years of 2.5 hours of virtual school a day.

Great time to be a $100/30 min tutor!

[Anonymous]

If the schools really cared about teaching and not having travel/exposure risks amongst its staff and students, they wouldn’t make so many days off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a local private. We are lucky to have a few long-term subs on campus everyday. However, we still don’t have enough subs to cover for everyone who’s been sick, experiencing mild symptoms but awaiting PCR test results (3-4 days in DC), or home with a sick or quarantined child. Our division heads and admin staffers are covering classes and duties. It’s meant that we don’t always have people available when a child needs to be sent to the office or school counselor. It’s meant canceling parent meetings or attending them for just a few minutes so that teaching staff can substitute for absent staff. That’s sustainable for a week or two, but if post-break absences are any higher than they were throughout December, sustaining operations will be difficult. We can’t magic up more personnel, no matter how many angry letters the HoS gets.

The same staffing constraints are what is driving the 1000's of airline flight cancellations. There simply aren't enough Covid negative pilots left to fly planes or flight crew to staff the plane.

But the good news is that with infections that high, it peaks quickly and then dramatically drops off.

Give it 6 weeks from Mid- December and we will be coming out of this- at least on East Coast.

End of year travel always has the vacation day Use it or Lose it staffing problems.
Also notice how mass media never stipulates domestic or international numbers cited and never outs a denominator on things. United cancelling 500 domestic flights is meaningless to an informed reader. United calling 500 flights if its 6000 daily domestic flights is better; and the journalists who addres that a typical day cancels 300 flights is real journalism as are the ones who dug up the last 20 years of holiday week staffing No Show data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, try the Public Libraries in the Mayor’s pet wards of 4,5,7& 8

You can literally go to Fessenden and CT this very moment and get what you need for free. Last time I checked, that was in ward 3.

Yes, thanks. I did indeed get them in W3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue remains staffing. If you don't have enough healthy staff and you don't have enough subs it's very hard to run School

Not hard to get subs if you pay them. And plenty of parents would volunteer. This is a canard.

If you have a list of background checked and qualified subs, by all means, please share.

And Covid tested day of work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue remains staffing. If you don't have enough healthy staff and you don't have enough subs it's very hard to run School

The Parents of DCUM have long since decided that any old warm body can be a teacher and that it’s not a special skill.

Quite how that reconciles with the notion that private schools are The Best Ever isn’t clear but never mind that.

Bs- just saying we can find a solution to a sub shortage.

I teach my kids a can do philosophy, a champions’ philosophy of possibilities and a preachers philosophy of favor and victory.

You sound like you read a trade unionist philosophy of negativity and exclusion. Sad.

Hahaha “a champions’ philosophy of possibilities” sounds like something embossed on a cutting board in the Live Laugh Love font.

I’ll bet you’re the kind of person who thinks Elon Musk is a self-made man and that private schools should accept payment solely in crypto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a local private. We are lucky to have a few long-term subs on campus everyday. However, we still don’t have enough subs to cover for everyone who’s been sick, experiencing mild symptoms but awaiting PCR test results (3-4 days in DC), or home with a sick or quarantined child. Our division heads and admin staffers are covering classes and duties. It’s meant that we don’t always have people available when a child needs to be sent to the office or school counselor. It’s meant canceling parent meetings or attending them for just a few minutes so that teaching staff can substitute for absent staff. That’s sustainable for a week or two, but if post-break absences are any higher than they were throughout December, sustaining operations will be difficult. We can’t magic up more personnel, no matter how many angry letters the HoS gets.

Parents will sub.

We’ve seen our tooth private schools kids - particularly lower school - fall quite behind in their foundational skills. And no review this year after 1.5 years of 2.5 hours of virtual school a day.

Great time to be a $100/30 min tutor!

Parents absolutely will not sub. Maybe one or two, sure, but my school couldn’t get subs consistently pre-COVID.

But even if they did- is sending your kid to sit in a classroom that’s being covered but not taught by an unqualified warm body really “in-person learning” or is it a balm to make YOU feel better?

[Anonymous]

So with all the parties on the 31st and 1st, will the back to school testing on Sunday-Tuesday be too early to detect the spread of Covid? I want to keep the kid home for the first week anyway and would prefer virtual classes for the first week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So with all the parties on the 31st and 1st, will the back to school testing on Sunday-Tuesday be too early to detect the spread of Covid? I want to keep the kid home for the first week anyway and would prefer virtual classes for the first week.

Agree. The rush to return when we are approaching peak Omicron is idiotic.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like Sidwell is staying the course but will remain flexible based on community testing which is taking place tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Again, anyone exposed by the partying over the weekend certainly will not Test positive by Sunday. Parents and kids shoe know better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a local private. We are lucky to have a few long-term subs on campus everyday. However, we still don’t have enough subs to cover for everyone who’s been sick, experiencing mild symptoms but awaiting PCR test results (3-4 days in DC), or home with a sick or quarantined child. Our division heads and admin staffers are covering classes and duties. It’s meant that we don’t always have people available when a child needs to be sent to the office or school counselor. It’s meant canceling parent meetings or attending them for just a few minutes so that teaching staff can substitute for absent staff. That’s sustainable for a week or two, but if post-break absences are any higher than they were throughout December, sustaining operations will be difficult. We can’t magic up more personnel, no matter how many angry letters the HoS gets.

Parents will sub.

We’ve seen our tooth private schools kids - particularly lower school - fall quite behind in their foundational skills. And no review this year after 1.5 years of 2.5 hours of virtual school a day.

Great time to be a $100/30 min tutor!

Parents absolutely will not sub. Maybe one or two, sure, but my school couldn’t get subs consistently pre-COVID.

But even if they did- is sending your kid to sit in a classroom that’s being covered but not taught by an unqualified warm body really “in-person learning” or is it a balm to make YOU feel better?

I’m a parent sub at my children’s school, but won’t be subbing until this wave passes. It’s not worth it. I would also much rather my children be virtual for a couple weeks. My younger one hopefully will get boosted this week and I’ll feel much better once she’s two weeks out from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, anyone exposed by the partying over the weekend certainly will not Test positive by Sunday. Parents and kids should know better.

[Anonymous]

Did Maret test on Friday?

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who wishes that we would stop testing? I want my kids to go to school. They are vaxed, they have masks and statistically should be fine. Why are we still doing all of this?